A total solar eclipse crossing Greenland, Iceland, Spain and a small portion of Portugal on August 12 has prompted airlines to organize special flights designed to position passengers precisely along the path of totality, meaning the moment when the moon completely obscures the sun.
The primary advantage of viewing from aircraft is freedom from ground-level weather conditions. By flying above most atmospheric layers, planes can offer relatively clear sightlines regardless of cloud cover below. For astronomy enthusiasts and researchers alike, this represents a rare opportunity to witness one of nature's most dramatic phenomena from a window seat thousands of feet in the air.
Spanish carrier Iberia is operating one of the day's most unusual flights. Flight IB1473, numbered as a tribute to the birth year of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, will depart Madrid-Barajas Airport at 6:45 p.m. local time aboard an Airbus A321XLR.
The aircraft will position itself over Spain's Palencia province, within the zone of totality, before returning to Madrid. Onboard will be scientists from the Shelios project, led by astronomer Miquel Serra-Ricart from the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.
The research team plans to study the solar corona, the sun's outer atmospheric layer, which becomes clearly visible during total eclipses, and observe the positions of Venus and Mercury relative to the sun. According to data from Flightradar24, one of the flight's pilots, Javier Maña Fernández, has a background in astrophysics.
Iberia intends to livestream the event on the company's social media channels using the aircraft's Starlink connectivity.
Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines is operating a special flight from Brussels in partnership with the Urania public observatory and two Belgian universities. The Airbus A320 will carry only 100 passengers, with some window-adjacent seats left empty to improve viewing angles.
Tickets were priced at 299 euros, and the flight is completely sold out.
Separately, Urania and ASL Group are organizing a charter flight from Liège Airport aboard an Embraer ERJ135. This flight will accommodate just 30 passengers at 799 euros per person, also fully booked.
In Britain, Air Charter Service is offering a charter flight from London Stansted Airport at £899 per passenger. The final destination, either Valladolid in Spain, the Balearic Islands, or Keflavík in Iceland, will be determined close to departure based on weather conditions and optimal visibility prospects.
NASA will deploy its WB-57 research aircraft from a base in Keflavík, Iceland. The plane is expected to fly at approximately 50,000 feet over the North Atlantic while tracking the moon's shadow.
Because the aircraft can travel faster than the shadow moves across the Earth's surface, researchers will be able to extend their time within the zone of totality. This additional observation time should enable more precise data collection about the sun's corona, information difficult to obtain from ground-based observations.
For residents of Reykjavík, the event carries particular historical significance: the city is expected to experience its first total solar eclipse since the year 1433. Demand for flights to the region reflects the exceptional interest: according to data from Amadeus, bookings to airports along the eclipse path are up 25% compared to the same period last year, while Bilbao has seen a 366% surge in demand.
